Oak Hill Freshman Launches GoFundMe For Cornerstones Back To School Drive

HERNDON, VA — Sanya Bhalla believes strongly in the importance of giving back to the community.

"Throughout my childhood, I've always been active in the service of our community by holding various essential drives," the rising high school freshman told Patch on Monday. "I even packed sandwiches for the Embry Rucker Shelter on my birthday every year, and I've even cleaned up the beach."

As a way of continuing her charitable efforts, the Oak Hill resident recently launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to purchase school supplies for underprivileged children in the area.

Bhalla has set a goal of raising $2,000 as part of Cornerstones' Back to School Drive. The money will be used to purchase school supplies for 37 area students in kindergarten and fourth grade.

"I was very fortunate to have conscious access to school supplies and even an education," she said. "But through my journey, I've realized that this is not the case for everyone. So, I want to change the lives of all these students and also ensure that they're successful for the next coming school year."

A 12-year resident of the Herndon area, Bhalla recently completed her studies at Rachel Carson Middle School and will attend Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in the fall.

Although Bhalla hasn't decided on a particular career path, she will continue on a STEM track and will probably study something to do with engineering.

As of 3:30 p.m., on Monday, Bhalla's GoFundMe campaign had raised a total of $335 toward her $2,000 goal from 10 donations.

"As a community, we all need to come together and join hands to help out the underprivileged," she said. "With the support of several local businesses in our area, I would like them to help fundraise and make an impact on these all these lives. I strongly urge everyone to support this back to school drive and become a part of a changing future."